POLITICS:

The League of Conservation Voters and its allies this week launched a television campaign attacking two Democrats and one Republican who voted against the climate change bill in committee last week.

The advertising campaign comes on the heels of the long-anticipated committee vote and ahead of what may be a similarly tough fight to get the bill past the House floor. The campaign by LCV and the groups VoteVets.org and America's Building Trades Unions will target Reps. John Barrow (D-Ga.), Mike Ross (D-Ark.) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.).

The ads will run in each representative's district.

The 30-second spots have a decidedly patriotic theme, opening with images of the American flag and transitioning to images of solar panels and wind turbines.

"Americans are coming together ... supporting a new clean energy future," states the ad, "a future that will end our dependence on foreign oil and safeguard our country ... build new industries and create millions of jobs."

"But Mike Ross said 'no' -- voting against the American Clean Energy and Security Act."

The groups ran similar ads ahead of last week's committee vote, urging those lawmakers and a number of others to support the legislation.

Ross and Barrow are two of the four Democrats in the House Energy and Commerce Committee who voted against the bill, along with Rep. Jim Matheson of Utah and Charles Melancon of Louisiana.

Both Barrow and Ross do not currently face strong re-election challenges -- either from their own party or from the GOP -- but both have also been identified as potential targets by the National Republican Congressional Committee. Blunt, meanwhile, is campaigning for the U.S. Senate in what is likely to be one of the more closely watched and competitive races in the country this year.